


You Are In Love

by rainingcatsandkisses



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Schmoop, Tags to be added, el is....corny, friendship and romance and all kinds of relationships, its the schmoopiest, just El coming to the realization that she's in love, mother daughter talks bcs mrs byers is el's mom now sorry i don't make the rules, snowy kisses and teens in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-02-13 16:52:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12988338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainingcatsandkisses/pseuds/rainingcatsandkisses
Summary: Little moments that make Eleven realize that she's in love





	1. "One look, dark room, meant just for you"

**Author's Note:**

> hahahahaha why am i doing this
> 
> this fic is set to Taylor Swift's "You Are In Love" so if you listen to that you'll have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with this

     Eleven Hopper, bundled up in pajamas and a sweater with a pillow and an extra blanket in her arms, was ushered into the basement of the Wheeler house by a harassed-looking Mrs. Wheeler, who leaves her at the top of the stairs with a “Can you tell Mike that the pizza should be here in about an hour, and that the money is on the table. I have to finish up this pie and run to Eloise’s for the dinner party” and a gentle squeeze on the shoulder before disappearing back into the kitchen before El could respond. She stood frozen for a moment, taken aback by the frazzled persona of the woman who was normally very calm and collected, before a shout from down the stairs startles her into remembering where she was.  
     “El! Hurry up we’re about to start!” She hears Dustin call, and she hurries down the steps, stumbling in her haste to join the party. But Mike was there, waiting at the bottom with a smile on his face, and he catches her, steadying her, fingers hesitating to let go; wolf whistles from the rest of the party turn him red, however, and he removes his hands from her shoulders, sticking them in his pockets instead.  
     “Hey,” he says quietly.  
     “Hey,” she whispers back.  
     “El, you’re late!” Max calls from the sofa, squished between Lucas and Will, a huge green blanket covering all three of them. She has her hair pulled back from her face with some clips and a huge bowl of popcorn in her lap. She smacks away Lucas’s hand when he tries to sneak a handful. “Not until the movie starts, Stalker,” she bites.  
     “Sorry,” El says, walking with Mike to the floor next to the sofa, next to Dustin, and dumping her pillow and blanket in a pile. “Hopper-Dad- had to stop off at the station.” She settles in next to Dustin on the floor, her head by what she assumes is Max’s knee. She looks at Mike as he sits down next to her, shifting her pile of blanket out of the way slightly. “Your mom says that the pizza will be here in an hour and that the money for it is on the table.” She recites to him. He nods.  
     “Yes, pizza!” Dustin cheers. The others laugh.  
     “Mike, get the lights!” Will calls, burrowing into his blanket and fixing his eyes on the TV.  
     “What, why me?” Mike asks, indignant.  
     “Because you’re closer to the switch, idiot.” Lucas retorts, finally managing to sneak some popcorn past Max’s unwavering watch. Mike groans, standing up again. El turns to Dustin, who’s holding the remote.  
     “What are we watching?” She asks him. He gives her a toothy grin.  
     “Ghostbusters.” He declares, and Will whoops. “You and Max haven’t seen it yet, so this is first on our list, and it’s the shit.”  
     Max rolls her eyes. “Whatever nerds, I’m just here for the pizza.” Lucas and Will both nudge her, and she laughs. Dustin somehow manages to keep a straight face.  
     “Trust me, this movie is amazing.” El nods, trusting him, and the party hushes when Mike switches off the lights and comes back to sit next to El. Dustin plays the movie, and she settles back against the couch, aware of Mike’s shoulder pressing into her own. She’s soon lost in the film, jumping at the scares, laughing at the jokes. At some point, Mike’s hand finds her own, but she doesn’t really notice until the doorbell rings upstairs and Mike has to let go to grab the pizza. Dustin goes with him, and El finds herself left on the floor by herself.  
     “Hey El,” Will says, and she looks up at him. He’s scooting over, pressing himself into Max and, in turn, Max into Lucas, who didn’t look unhappy about it. “Come sit up here,” he continues, patting the part of the couch next to him that was empty. It wasn’t a lot of room, but she was still rather small, and so she squeezes in, laughing with Max at the way Lucas groans in discomfort.  
     “I don’t think there’s enough room for all of us here.” She giggles, but Will shakes his head.  
     “There’s always room.” He says, and his voice is a lot more serious than she would have expected. But he smiles brightly, and asks how she’s enjoying the movie so far, and she forgets the flutter of warmth in her chest at his words, and instead tries to form an opinion of Ghostbusters in words, with a lot of encouragement from Lucas and even more eye rolling from Max. She leans towards the redhead, a teasing glint in her eyes.  
     “And how are you liking the Ghostbusters?” She questions Max. Lucas interjects with “It’s just called Ghostbusters” while Max splutters.  
     “It’s not-I mean it’s okay-I mean, it’s an alright movie, I guess,” she stammers, blushing. El had seen the way her friend had been paying rapt attention to the movie, and despite her previous misgivings seemed to be really enjoying it. “I’d prefer it if the Ghostbusters were women though, that would be really cool.” She admits. El hums in agreement, attention turning to the stairs as Mike and Dustin clatter down, holding two pizza boxes each.  
     “Mom almost didn’t leave enough money for the delivery guy,” Mike complains, setting the pizzas on the table. Dustin sets his boxes next to Mike’s.  
     “Whatever, we still got pizza.” He says, flipping open one of the boxes. Paper plates had been brought down before El had arrived, and pizza was distributed accordingly. El accepted her slice from Will, thanking him with a nod.  
     “Tell your mom thanks from me, Mike.” Will says, taking a bite. Max and Lucas echo, taking their own huge mouthfuls of pizza. El nibbles at the end of hers, savoring the cheesy taste. The party eats in silence for a moment, before Lucas nudges Dustin to continue playing the movie. It’s still dark in the basement, the only light coming from the screen of the TV, and she looks at her friends, lit with a blue glow, and she smiles. This is what home feels like, she thinks, taking another bite of her pizza, and that’s when she notices Mike looking at her. He’s sitting at her feet, his own pizza forgotten in his hand, and he’s just looking at her. There’s a smile on his face, she recognizes it as the one where he’s lost in a happy thought, and she realizes with a start that it’s because of her. He catches her eyes and she can see him blush, faint as it is due to the wash of the TV, but she smiles back at him. She reaches out, running her fingers through his hair, like how Hopper-Dad- did with her, and he laughs silently, turning his attention back to the movie that everyone else was engrossed in. He doesn’t stray far though, instead leaning back so that his shoulder presses into her leg, and she feels comfort in that touch. She nudges him, slightly, just to make sure that he’s there, and he nudges back.  
     Yes, she thinks, focusing back on the film. This is what home feels like.


	2. "Time moved too fast, you play it back"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the hours after closing the gate, El finally deals with some other fears of her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so uhhhhhhh i'm back? sorry guys i've had the WORST new years so far so i've been really down and unable to finish this lately, but i finally took my motivation and basically gave it CPR to deliver y'all the second installment in this series. 
> 
> Enjoy!

     The evil red of the gate flashes behind her closed eyes, so Eleven takes a deep breath and opens them, staring up at the dark ceiling of Joyce Byers’ room. She’s sprawled in the bed, warm and cozy but for some reason, she feels restless.  She sits up, letting the blankets fall to her sides, and the first thing she notices is Hopper, asleep in a chair next to her. His arms are folded, hands resting on top of the hat on his stomach. She can hear him snoring quietly. Seeing him relaxed like that makes her feel safe, like the danger has passed and it’s okay to rest.

     The second thing she notices is Mike, curled up in another chair at the end of the bed, his face on the sheets by her feet, pillowed by his arms. He looks tense, upset, even in his sleep, and suddenly she feels cold, a shiver rolling down her spine.  For 353 days, all she had wanted to do was see him, talk to him, touch him. And then he was there, staring at her with that smile, looking as if all the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. But he had been crying. She could feel his ragged breaths on her neck as he hugged her. She could see the tears in his eyes as he pulled back to look at her. So many things had happened tonight, all of it blurring together at times, and there was only one thing she could think about clearly.

     “ _Why didn’t you tell me you were there? That you were okay?_ ” She’s played back the words he’d said over and over again throughout the night, and the accusation, subtle and discreet as it was, still rings in her ears. She knows he didn’t mean it that way. She knows he would never blame her. But the utter disbelief in his voice when he had said _“You’ve been hiding her this whole time_ ” and the way he’d shoved Hopper had let her know, without a doubt, that he’d been hurt by her absence. And she wasn’t sure how to fix it.

     She wipes away a tear threatening to fall, and realizes she needs some air. She climbs out of the bed, freezing when Hopper snores loudly suddenly, and Mike stirs at the noise. _Don’t wake up, don’t wake up_ , she pleads with both of them silently, and maybe they heard, or maybe she was just lucky, but Hopper doesn’t snore again, and Mike mumbles something under his breath and settles. She carefully pads her way over to the door, slipping through it with the least amount of noise as possible.

     There’s a light on in the kitchen, and she approaches it cautiously. As far as she knows, everyone slept over after the events of the night, and she doesn’t particularly want to run into that Max girl or the rest of the party. She feels another stab of guilt when she thinks about Lucas and Dustin. She should have contacted them. She wanted to contact them. She wasn’t going to blame them if they resented her for that. But it wasn’t Max at the table, or Dustin or Lucas. Instead, Joyce sits by herself, a steaming mug of something between her hands and a blanket draped over her shoulders. She’s staring into the cup, eyes unfocused, and El glances at the clock on the counter. ‘Two-one-nine,’ it reads. It was late then.

     “Eleven?” Joyce asks suddenly, and El looks back at her quickly, nodding. “Is everything alright?” El pauses, unsure of her answer. She shrugs instead.

     “I can’t sleep.”

     “Would you like a glass of warm milk? That always helps Will sleep.”

     “Warm milk?” Hopper had given her milk before, but never warm. Joyce stands, indicating for El to sit at the table while she grabs a glass. She warms the milk in a pan on the stove, and offers it to El quietly. She takes a sip and shudders, feeling the warmth spread through her, as if she’d been cold without realizing it.

     “Thank you,” she says, and the two sit together, nursing their own drinks silently, and El is thankful for the company. She looks over at the front door; Will’s drawings had yet to be taken down, she notices, and suddenly she hears Mike’s words again.

_Why didn’t you tell me you were there?_

     “Mrs. Byers?” She asks quietly, staring into her glass of warm milk. Joyce hums. “Is...is Mike going to be mad at me?” She looks up at the woman, who tilts her head in confusion.

     “Sweetie, why would you think that?” She asks, reaching her hand across the table to hold El’s.

     “I didn’t answer him.” El whispers, her voice thick with shame and regret. “He was hurting so much, and I didn’t answer him.” She looks back at her cup of milk, the tears threatening to spill over again. Joyce sighs, understanding her.

     “Hey,” she whispers, and El sniffs. Joyce gives her hand a squeeze. “Hey, Mike is a smart boy. He may be angry now, but not at you. He would never be angry at you.”

     “You think so?”

     “Mike will understand that Hopper was just protecting you. That boy risked his life to help you tonight. All he wants is for you to be safe.” She takes a sip from her mug. “He may seem upset now, but believe me, it’s not at you.” El contemplates this for a moment.

     “I don’t want him to be mad at Hopper either though,” she says, wincing at the echo of her voice around the room. Joyce sighs again.

     “I don’t think it’ll be that easy, sweetheart.” She admits. “Hopper lied to all of us. I think Mike has a right to be angry with him. But,” she takes another sip of her drink. “He kept you safe. I think that deserves a little forgiveness. Mike will get there, someday. Give him time.” El nods, the heavy feeling in her chest slowly lifting. They sit there in silence, two empty cups in a quiet kitchen, the early hours of the morning the only soundtrack inside the walls. El’s mind flits back to her first glimpse of Mike that night, what felt like years or eternities ago, but this time, when he says “ _Why didn’t you tell me you were there?_ ” she doesn’t feel the guilt, or the anger or the sadness. Instead, she feels warmth. She can hear his worry, his desperation this time. She knows it’ll take time for Mike to come to terms with her absence. But time moves quickly. The hours in the cabin had passed like daydreams, and now she was here, with her friends, and all at once that was enough. El smiles into her mug, and Joyce smiles back.

     “You should go back to bed now. You’ve had a long day, and you need the sleep.” El nods and stands, putting her cup into the sink.

     “What about you?” She turns and asks Joyce, who hasn’t moved. Joyce smiles ruefully up at El.

     “I’m going to stay here for a little bit longer. You go on ahead, though. I’ll see you in the morning.” El pauses, then walks quickly over to Joyce and places a soft kiss on her head, like how Hopper sometimes did to her when she was upset. Joyce stiffens, then reaches up and ruffles El’s hair. They share a smile, one filled with such sorrow for the losses of the night, yet bright with hope, and peace, and love, before El turns and pads quietly back to her room. She slips through the door, grabbing two blankets from the basket by the closet, and drapes them over both Hopper and then Mike. Once satisfied with her work, she climbs back onto the bed, grabbing her pillow and moving it to the end of the bed, where Mike’s head still rests on his arms. As she gets comfortable, she studies him, closely.

     He looks tired, exhausted. He has dark bags under his eyes, and his skin is pale, and that familiar pang of guilt inside of her surfaces once more. Instead of dwelling on it, however, she instead reaches out, slowly, still afraid he’ll disappear if she touches him, like he’s done so many times before, but he doesn’t. He’s solid, and stable, and she breathes a sigh of relief as she rests her fingers by his. They aren’t holding hands, not really, but as El settles herself, her own tiredness catching up to her finally, his fingers twitch, brushing hers, and she smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there wasn't really any mileven in that one sorry but the next one will have plenty!!!
> 
> also just fyi i am 100% against the max/eleven hatred thing that happened but i also understand that it was in character and also this way it sets us up for some kickass enemies to friends tropes in s3 and i, for one, am hella down for that
> 
> and as always, you can find me at upsidedownpromises.tumblr.com


	3. "Buttons on a coat, light-hearted joke"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ready?” He asks after a moment. She nods, grabbing her gloves from their basket by the door, and together they step out of the cabin into a winter wonderland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh.....hi?
> 
> Listen i know i promised steady updates but life has been rough and i have had no inspiration so just, idk yell at me for lying to y'all that's fine
> 
> but anyways i finally picked my butt up and rewatched a couple episodes of ST to get myself in the mood and it worked! I'm trying to write a couple more chapters before I post the next one, so thank you so much for sticking with me through this. I am Determined to finish this project though, so I promise it's not gonna die.

     “El, are you warm enough?” Mike Wheeler asks his girlfriend as she steps out of her bedroom, wrapped in one of Mike’s sweaters and a jacket. She pauses at the door frame, looking at her boyfriend. He was, unlike her, bundled up in more than a couple sweaters, his heavy winter coat already buttoned up to his chin. He looked ridiculous. 

     “I don’t think it’s that cold outside, is it?” She asks, confused. She could have sworn the weather forecast on the TV said that the storm would arrive in the evening. They still had a few hours to go.

     “I know,” he says, already starting to unbutton his coat. “But it started snowing when I got here and it's really heavy now and it’s kind of windy and wet and I don’t want you to catch a cold, because Hopper will really kill me, for real this time, not like the other few times when I said he would kill me, and-”

     “Mike.” El giggles, cutting off her boyfriend’s flustered monologue. “I’ll be fine.” He just stares at her, finishing shrugging off his coat.

     “El, I’m wearing three sweaters and a shirt. The coat was a precaution. I want you to wear it.”

     “I don’t mind the cold,” she protests. He knows she’s lying, and she knows he knows. After the whole incident with the Mind Flayer, no one seemed inclined to liking the cold. Mike continues to stare at her, coat in his outstretched hands, and she sighs, secretly relieved. She takes it and shrugs it on, giving Mike a look as she does. He just gives her that goofy grin she loves so much.

     “Ready?” He asks after a moment. She nods, grabbing her gloves from their basket by the door, and together they step out of the cabin into a winter wonderland. 

     El was still a secret. The Snow Ball had been an exception, Hopper had said, and insisted she remain in hiding for another year before it was safe to be seen in public. That hadn’t stopped the party from spending the occasional evenings and weekends with her at Hopper’s cabin. Mike especially; he was glued to El’s side now that he had her back. Every time he showed up on their porch, Hopper would just run his hand down his face and hold the door open, allowing El to jump into his arms. Their day would be spent inside, watching movies Mike deemed ‘culturally crucial,’ such as Ghostbusters and Star Wars and soap dramas that El had convinced (though not with difficulty) Mike to watch, sharing a bucket of popcorn and blushing when their fingers brushed. It was a certain kind of quiet, reserved for the both of them. Mike, content to just see her, and El, content to stay hidden now that she was not alone. 

     Today was a special occasion. Hopper had declared it safe enough for her to go out for a couple hours, and Mike had immediately jumped at the chance. They couldn’t stray too far from the cabin, so he’d proposed a simple walk around the woods. Hopper had approved, and so here they were, bundled up to their cold-kissed noses.

     “Careful, it’s slippery,” Mike says, stepping down the porch steps first and holding his hand out for El. She nods, gripping it tightly and following his footsteps, giggling at the crunch of the leaves when she steps on them. He laughs with her, and she breathes in the smell of winter, the pine and the fresh and the wonderful. She lets go of Mike’s hand and skips ahead, letting the woods welcome her into their cold embrace. “El, be careful!” He shouts at her back, but his words are drowned by a loud squeal as she promptly slips on the ice and falls onto her butt. Mike is by her side in an instant, worry on his face. 

     “I’m fine,” she giggles before he can even open his mouth, “really.” He gives her a look, the one where his lips purse and and his eyes narrow, a crease appearing between his eyebrows; the look that says “you say that but I don’t believe you," and she places a hand on his arm to boost herself up, delivering the quickest of kisses on his cheek before using his weight to pull herself to her feet. Mike helps her automatically, but she can see on his face that he’s still flushed about the kiss, and she laughs. Her breaths puff out in front of her, mixing with Mike’s, and El realizes that she’s happy, so incredibly happy, at this moment. 

     “Mike,” she whispers, leaning in towards him. His attention is instantly on her, tilting his head down so that she can reach him with more ease.

     “Yeah?” He whispers back, eyes dark, and on hers.

     “I…” she trails off, tugging him just a little bit closer. He obliges, forehead brushing hers, and his lips part slightly. His breath is warm, and she sighs.

     “Yeah?”

     “I think…” She slides her hands up his arms, tangling her fingers in his hair, a twitch of lips away, a breath apart.

     “El,” he murmurs, and she can’t help it, he’s so adorable. She giggles, unraveling her fingers and leaning back. He follows her, but she bypasses his lips for his ear, opting for a whisper rather than a kiss.

     “I think I just fell for you.” She states, then slips out of his embrace and dashes off into the snow. He’s frozen for a moment, and she bursts out laughing. That breaks him out of his stupor, and he spins, the most indignant expression on his face.

     “El!!” He protests, only to move out the way quickly before the incoming snowball could hit him. “Hey! No powers allowed in snowball fights!” He calls out, and El holds up her hands innocently. He shakes his head, a wide grin on his face, face red, and falls into a crouch. She smiles, walking over to him and placing her hand on his head, running her fingers through his hair. All of a sudden, her feet are knocked out from under her and she lands on three sweaters and a Mike, their faces inches away. She realizes, with a laugh, that he’d pulled her into the snow with him, and the chill from it is seeping into her sides, but she’s laying on top of Mike, warm and steady, and this time she gives in, placing a chaste kiss on his lips. He smiles at her, another one of his signature smiles, the soft, pure, warm and sweet smile, the one that makes her melt every single time, the one reserved for her and her alone. She’s warm and fuzzy, her heart light like the falling snow.

     “Mike?” She whispers, cheeks warm.

     “Yeah?” He whispers back, fingers brushing away the snow from her hair.

     “I’m happy.” And he smiles, and that’s more than enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, thanks for sticking with me through this. As always, I'm found at upsidedownpromises on tumblr. Please yell at me to write. Thanks.


End file.
